Florida Keys Travel Guide

Florida Keys' Drag Race

The "Drag Race" in the Florida Keys probably isn't what you're imagining it to be in that it's not cars lined up and sprinting against each other but actually a group of people dressed in drag running through the streets. No matter your stance on their lifestyle, you have to admit that this would have been a blast to watch in person.

Dresses, pancake makeup and high platform heels aren’t the traditional attire for drag car racers. But that’s what competitors wore in Key West this weekend, when a group of big-haired female impersonators staged the Great Conch Republic Drag Race.

Sanctioned by the Conch Republic’s NHRA (Natural “Hot Rod” Association), the Saturday afternoon event featured many of the trappings of a typical hot rodders’ event, including checkered flags and fierce competition, but with a quirky Key West twist.

Drag queens vied for position in time trials and multiple heats, cheered by several hundred spectators. Among their challenges were navigating an obstacle course of automobile tires and riding or pushing shopping carts down Duval Street — Key West’s aptly nicknamed “main drag.”